Tether, the company behind the world’s largest stablecoin USDT (USDT), has made a strategic investment in blockchain analytics firm Crystal Intelligence to increase efforts to root out crypto-related crime with its token.
The investment gives Tether direct access to Crystal’s suite of tools for real-time risk monitoring, fraud detection and regulatory intelligence, bolstering the company’s ability to help global law enforcement track suspicious activity, the firms said in a Tuesday press release. Crystal has worked alongside Tether to build Scam Alert, a public database that flags wallet addresses tied to scams.
Crypto scams and exploits have surged in recent years. In 2024, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center recorded $9.3 billion in losses tied to digital asset fraud, a 66% increase from the year before.
Crypto exchange Coinbase and Tether have assisted the U.S. Secret Service in seizing $225 million worth of USDT stolen through romance-investment scams.
Tether, whose USDT stablecoin is frequently used in illicit transactions due to its liquidity, says it has already helped over 255 law enforcement agencies across 55 jurisdictions and has frozen more than $2.7 billion worth of stablecoins linked to criminal activity.
“This strategic investment will strengthen our capacity to collaborate more effectively and reinforce a clear message: misuse USDT, and law enforcement will find you,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said in a statement.
Read more: U.S. Secret Service Quietly Becomes a Leading Crypto Cop as Digital Fraud Soars: Bloomberg